Boundaries Punctuation and Grammar Flashcards

Which version of the sentence correctly uses punctuation to join two independent clauses while maintaining the most formal and precise relationship between them? (A) The committee rejected the proposal; however, three members abstained from the vote. (B) The committee rejected the proposal, however three members abstained from the vote. (C) The committee rejected the proposal however; three members abstained from the vote. (D) The committee rejected the proposal, however, three members abstained from the vote.

Answer: The committee rejected the proposal; however, three members abstained from the vote.

When a conjunctive adverb like 'however' connects two independent clauses, it must be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma. Option A correctly places the semicolon before 'however' and a comma after it. Option B creates a comma splice. Option C misplaces the semicolon after 'however' rather than before it. Option D uses two commas around 'however,' which treats it as a parenthetical within a single clause rather than a connector between two independent clauses—making it a comma splice.

A student writes: "The novelist's most celebrated works—her trilogy about displacement and identity—has been translated into forty languages." What is the grammatical error in this sentence?

Answer: The verb 'has' does not agree with the true subject of the sentence.

The subject of the sentence is 'works' (plural), not 'trilogy'—the em-dash phrase is a parenthetical appositive that can be removed without changing the core sentence. 'Works…has been' is incorrect; it should be 'works…have been.' The em dashes are used correctly to set off non-essential information. The possessive 'novelist's' is fine as written (singular novelist). The conjunction 'and' between the nouns is also correct.

In the following sentence, which underlined portion contains an error in boundary punctuation? "Researchers at the university [(A) confirmed, that] the new compound inhibits bacterial growth; [(B) yet, the] mechanism by which it does so [(C) remains, as of] this writing, [(D) unclear."]

Answer: confirmed, that

'Confirmed, that' is incorrect because a comma should not separate a verb from its subordinate clause introduced by 'that.' The word 'that' here introduces a noun clause acting as the direct object of 'confirmed'; no comma belongs before it. 'Yet, the' correctly uses a comma after the conjunctive adverb following the semicolon (though technically 'yet' as a coordinating conjunction would use only a comma—both are defensible here). 'Remains, as of' is acceptable since 'as of this writing' is a parenthetical phrase set off by commas. 'Unclear.' correctly ends the sentence.

Which sentence uses a colon correctly according to standard written English conventions? (A) The three finalists were: a biochemist, a historian, and a poet. (B) Her argument rested on a single principle: evidence must precede conclusion. (C) What remained after the audit was: unexplained discrepancies in the ledger. (D) The director insisted on: rehearsing the scene seventeen additional times.

Answer: Her argument rested on a single principle: evidence must precede conclusion.

A colon must be preceded by a grammatically complete independent clause. In option B, 'Her argument rested on a single principle' is a complete clause, and the colon correctly introduces a clarifying restatement. Options A, C, and D all place colons after incomplete clauses—'were,' 'was,' and 'on' are all verbs or prepositions that require their complements to complete the clause. Interrupting them with a colon is a boundary punctuation error.

Read the following passage and identify the sentence that contains a fused sentence (run-on) disguised by a relative clause: (A) The report, which the board had commissioned six months earlier, was finally submitted on the eve of the deadline. (B) The glaciers are retreating faster than models predicted this trend alarmed climatologists who revised their projections. (C) Although the amendment passed with a narrow majority, its implementation was delayed pending a constitutional review. (D) The sculpture, though small in scale, commanded the entire room with its intricate latticed surface.

Answer: The glaciers are retreating faster than models predicted this trend alarmed climatologists who revised their projections.

Option B contains a fused sentence: 'The glaciers are retreating faster than models predicted' is one complete independent clause, and 'this trend alarmed climatologists who revised their projections' is another. They are joined with no punctuation or coordinating conjunction—making it a run-on. The trailing relative clause 'who revised their projections' may distract readers from noticing the boundary error earlier in the sentence. Options A, C, and D are all correctly punctuated.

A writer wants to add a non-restrictive appositive to the following sentence without creating a punctuation error: "Professor Aldean published her landmark study on cognitive dissonance." The appositive to be added is: *the university's only endowed chair in behavioral psychology* Which revision is correct?

Answer: Professor Aldean, the university's only endowed chair in behavioral psychology, published her landmark study on cognitive dissonance.

A non-restrictive appositive must be set off from the rest of the sentence by matching punctuation on both sides. Option C correctly encloses the appositive with a comma before and after it. Option A omits the closing comma, running the appositive into the predicate. Option B omits the opening comma, which fails to signal where the appositive begins. Option D opens with an em dash but never closes it—em dashes used for appositives must appear in pairs, just like commas.